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Monday, October 29, 2012

When two teenagers take on the
might of the fundamentalist Taliban in a conservative and poor area of Pakistan
in the name of education and girls’ and women’s rights, they need all the
support they can get.

That’s why I back the global appeal
to the The
Norwegian Nobel Committeeto award the Nobel Peace Prize to Malala Yousafzai, Hina Khan and girls’
education.

While 14-year-old Malala Yousafzaiis
recovering from being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman earlier this month, the
Taliban are threatening to target another Pakistani teenager, 16-year-old Hina
Khan.

After the Nobel Peace Prize going
to U.S. President Barack Obama (2009) and the European Union (2012) -- shocking
choices in both cases -- what better way to encourage peace than through
education generally and girls’ education specifically?

Malala recovering in Birmingham (photo via dailymail.co.uk)

On October 9, a Taliban
gunman shot Malala while she was returning home on a school bus after taking an
exam in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. She is now on the long road to recovery in a
Birmingham hospital in the UK.

On her being identified, the Taliban
gunman shot her twice, once in the head and once in the neck. Two other girls, Kainat
Riaz and Shazia Ramzan, were also wounded.

Malala is a pupil from the town of Mingora in the
Swat Valley. She is known as an education and women’s rights activist in the
area, where the Talibanhave
banned girls from attending school.

She drew attention when, in January 2009, she posted her first
anonymous entry to the BBC Urdublog
that would later make her famous. She used the pseudonym "Gul Makai"
-- meaning "corn flower" in Urdu-- so as
not to be targeted by the Taliban. She wrote about her life under the Taliban
regime, their attempts to take control of the valley and her views on promoting
education for girls. Later that year, the Pakistani military intervened,
culminating in the expulsion of the Taliban from the Swat Valley.

Hina in front of the family home painted with a red "X"

Last week, a red “X” was painted on the gate
of Hina Khan’s family home in Islamabad. Hina is also known as activist for
education and women’s rights.

A Nobel Peace Prize for Malala and Hina will send a clear
message that the world is watching and will support those who stand up for
gender equality, universal human rights and the right of education for girls.

After removing the graffiti,
the red “X” reappeared the next day and the Khan family got a phone call
warning that Hina is the Taliban’s next target.

Hina at a press conference with her mother and father (via daily mail.co.uk)

The Khan family is originally from the same Swat Valley area of
Pakistan as Malala. It was under complete Taliban control from 2007 to 2009. Hina and her family were forced to move to Islamabad in 2006 after
publicly criticizing atrocities committed by militants.

Her father, Raitullah Khan, said: “A few days ago when I came out
of my house I saw a red cross on my gate, which I removed, assuming it might
have been drawn by some kids.But the
very next day it appeared again, which really terrified me. We [then] received
a call that Hina will be next after Malala. We have already been fighting death
threats for many years when my wife started speaking for women rights and
girls' education.”

Hina first attracted the wrath of the Taliban in 2008, when she
held a press conference after militants started bombing schools in a campaign
of intolerance against girls’ education.

Her mother, Farhat,
is a social worker and was already a target of the fundamentalist
Islamic group after organizing a handicraft exhibit for Swati women in 2006 and
supporting women rights and girls’ education.

Malala is joined by her family in Birmingham for Eid (via dailymail.co.uk)

Malala, who cannot speak at
the moment, was in a medically induced coma on arrival in Britain on October 15,
but has since regained consciousness and has stood for the first time since the
shooting.

She was struck just above the
back of her left eye, with the bullet travelling down the side of her jaw and
damaging the skull. It went through her neck and lodged in the tissue above her
shoulder blade. University Hospitals Birmingham said Malala “remains in a
stable condition.”

The road to peace is walked
one step at a time, one educated person at a time. Malala and Hina have taken
the first steps, at a very high cost. By supporting them, keeping them safe and
honoring them, we can help make the world a better place to live.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

My friend Alexander
McNabb (@AlexanderMcNabb) has
gone and done it again. This month saw the publication of a second novel in
which I was somewhat involved -- albeit as a beta reader -- and I’m feeling
like the mother of the bride.

After the first, Olives, I couldn't wait to get my PDF version of Beirut -- An Explosive Thriller. It's dynamite! And now I look forward to the third, Shemlan.

Instead of the usual
book review, I sent Alex a few questions about one of the characters in the
book – Leila Medawar. Alex gave me the answers in a post published on his blog, Fake
Plastic Souks on Friday (October 19):

Beirut And The Disposable Character

Lynch called across to Leila. ‘Where’s Deir Na’ee?’

She uncurled and came to him, looking over his
shoulder at the screen, her blouse opening to show the warm brown mound of her
breast. ‘Deir Na’ee? The lonely home? Sounds like something up in the Bekaa.
Never heard of it. Try Googling it. Might be a village somewhere.’

‘And “Spike”?’

She paused, then turned to regain her place on the
sofa. ‘No idea, habibi. I’m not a phone book.’

Lynch chuckled, the search phrase ‘Deir Na’ee’ for
some reason returning the Irish poem A
bhonnán bhuí, The Yellow Bittern. He read it out loud, the Irish words
coming back to him from the mists of distant childhood, the disinfectant reek
of the Sisters of Charity’s classroom. ‘A
bhonnán bhuí, is é mo léan do luí, Is do chnámha sínte tar éis do ghrinn, Is
chan easba bidh ach díobháil dí, a d'fhág i do luí thú ar chúl do chinn.’

Leila was laughing at him. ‘What are you saying?’

‘It’s Irish. Deir Na’ee gets that in Google. Christ
alone knows why.’

‘That is not a language. It sounds like dogs
fighting.’

‘Póg mo thóin.’

From Beirut -- An Explosive Thriller

Today brings a treat -- a guest post and quizzing from Micheline Hazou,
patroness of genteel blog Mich Café, friend and Beirut wandering companion as well as
beta reader of Beirut – An
Explosive Thriller...

It is quite exciting to be a beta reader. It is also something I
take very seriously.

I had the privilege to beta-read Alexander McNabb’s first novel, Olives
– A Violent Romance. I was even more flattered to be offered the chance to
beta-read Beirut – An Explosive Thriller a couple of months
ago.

It’s not as easy as it seems, because you often get sucked up in
the story and forget to keep an eye out for anything that might be wrong, from
proofreading to translations and anything you don’t quite like. So I had to
re-read many a chapter with that in mind.

From the first few pages of Beirut I felt Alex
had come into his own. I got caught up in the “explosive” thriller and
rediscovered the main character, Gerald Lynch, in another light. Whereas he had
seemed pompous, uptight and unlikeable in Olives, here he is chasing the
bad guys with a conscience and sexy on top of it.

As with Olives, I was drawn by the local female
characters in the books. I can identify with them. And I wonder why they are so
disposable. As most of you have read Olives by now, you must know
Aisha Dajani’s fate. But Leila Medawar? Why, Alex?

As described in the book, Leila Medawar is the “student activist,
dissident, blogger and poet to the leftist anti-sectarian intelligentsia. Born
into wealth and privilege she was heartrendingly idealistic… beautiful dark
haired Leila, lover of freedom, equality and British spies. Well, spy.”

Without giving too much away, here are a few questions I would like to ask
about Leila Medawar, Gerald Lynch’s lover:

I like Leila Medawar. She humanizes Lynch. Why is she so
disposable? That's
partly why she's there. And partly it seals her fate. It's odd but I seem to
have this habit of killing the characters I love the most, from the delicious
Kylie in my first book, Space, through to a number of characters in Olives, Beirut and,
yes, Shemlan.

I often recall an incident involving The Niece From Hell. We were
on a walk along the Thames when I was pulled up by the realization I recognized
a particular bench on the towpath. ‘Wow,’ I exclaimed. ‘I killed a guy on this
bench!’

The niece glanced carelessly at the bench and shrugged.
‘Whatever.’

I know I am involved in murdering a number of attractive Arab
women, but don't take that personally -- I'm an equal opportunities killer. I
do for a number of occidental men in my books too. And some of them are quite
ugly.

On the bright side, it's probably a good thing I'm getting this
stuff out of my system. And anyway, there are a thousand and one Leilas...

I sound like I’m gabbling guiltily. I probably am.

How come she knew he was in Intelligence? It's how he met her -- when on a surveillance
job involving a student protest. In fact, that’s not mentioned until much later
in the book in the 'beta' MS but part of the feedback from readers made me
bring that history right up front.

Lynch isn't really very good at observing some of the traditional modalities of
Intelligence, he's far too Arabized for that. Leila is very much into his 'home
life'. They live a cocooned existence together -- she has his key, they keep
their relationship secret (she leaves the room when Palmer comes from the
embassy with Lynch's ticket because they have agreed discretion is the way to
go for both of them) and Lynch knows who she is. She trusts him not to spy on
her and he, I rather think, trusts her not to use her relationship with him in
her activities.

Where is Leila’s family? How is it that she was able to live with Lynch, and
then in the flat he provided her?

She doesn't actually live with him, just has a key and comes
around a lot. He was hoping the flat in Hamra would be a bolt hole for them
both but was surprised by the strength of her reaction to the news he would be
shacking up with another spy type.

Her family is living in Dubai, as it happens -- but she's got away
with going back to Beirut to study at AUB. That gives her independence beyond
reason -- and the freedom to go out with a man over twice her age.

And no, it's not one of my secret fantasies sneaking into a book.
There's a certain journalist living in Ain Mreisse who might
be influencing some of Lynch's lifestyle...

What is the story of the Orrefors
tumbler? I've long
been a huge fan of Orrefors glass and have a number of those beautiful pieces
with the blue teardrop. It just seemed natural that it should sneak into
the book -- and tells us that Leila's moneyed, incidentally. That stuff's
hideously expensive.

Leila being particular about how she takes her whisky is a mannerism I stole
from a rather lovely Lebanese friend...

I also let my personal preferences sneak in with the Lamiable
champagne later in the book, which is a stunning single grower extra brut -- a
hard champagne to make well as it has little or no 'dosage' and is therefore
incredibly dry. I have a nice chap called Charles who ships it to me in the UK.
One has a literary agent and a vintner, don't you know...

Why the choice of Proust? And which of his works was she reading? Remembrance of Things Past of course, silly! Probably The Prisoner,
a reflection of Lynch’s ardor for her mixed with a desire to control her,
perhaps why he offers her the flat in Hamra. Leila’s not Albertine, of course --
but she is enjoying casting herself in the role.

Leila is possibly reading it because she likes Proust, or because
she likes to be seen to be liking Proust -- that’s a very Lebanese
dilemma. She was reading it in the original French because, of course, she
speaks French like a native. And she likes to tell friends she finds the
Moncrieff translation sloppy.

Why did Lynch only try calling her? Why didn’t he go over to see
her? And why didn’t she have protection? He was scared of finding some ape from AUB in her bed. He was also
rather busy saving the world and flying to and from Europe. He talked to the
concierge, too, which just confirms his worst fears.

Lynch had checked with the concierge and yes, she moved in to the
flat in Hamra. Yes, she had indeed taken male company, the old crone told
Lynch, laughing dirtily and pocketing the fifty thousand lire tip.

There was no protection -- Lynch operates as a lone wolf most of
the time, he's not often part of the 'framework', but a maverick operator
Channing uses for the messy stuff. His approach to intelligence is 'go local,
go low-key' rather than bringing in the Keystone cops every time. It's one
reason why he prefers to use a servees rather than an embassy car.

Part of Lynch would also let her cool her heels, perhaps even be
angry at her and take an 'Youse know what? F youse too' approach to her flouncing
off like that. And yet she's under his skin. Not quite as much as Michel gets
under hers, though...

Does Lynch fall in love again in Shemlan? Please
say yes…

No, but Shemlan is very much a
love story -- although not a very straightforward one.

To find out how to get a copy of Beirut – An Explosive Thriller shipped to your doorstep or
downloaded instantly to your reader, please visit the Beirutwebsite.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

As of October 1, 2012, the United States had a total resident
population of 314,592,000, according to Wikipedia. It is the third most populous countryin the world, after China and India.

More importantly in
2009, there were 155.6 million females compared to 151.4 million males. At age
85 and over, there were twice-plus as many women as men.

In his second presidential debate with Barack Obama on Tuesday
night, Republican candidate Mitt Romney chose to categorize this female
population as “Binders Full of Women.”

Will
he get away with it when American women go to the polling stations on November
6?

Every three years, we
spend a fourth waiting and trying to guess who will be the next president of
the United States. With just 18 days to go until we find out whether it will be
Obama or Romney at the White House, Tuesday night’s debate was the coup de grâcefor the GOP and their candidate, or at
least I hope so.

Anyone who has access
to the Internet is by now aware of the “Binder” boo-boo coming from the man who
could become the leader of the “Free World.”

Romney was responding
to a question about inequalities in the workplace and fair pay for women. He
talked about his time as Massachusetts’s governor and how he wanted to hire
some women for his cabinet:

“And -- and so we --
we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that
could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of
women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us
whole binders full of women.”

You need help to find
women for top posts -- in the U.S.?

His patronizing went
even further: “Now one of the reasons I was able to get so many good women to
be part of that team was because of our recruiting effort. But number two,
because I recognized that if you’re going to have women in the workforce that
sometimes you need to be more flexible.”

He explained his
chief of staff had two kids that were still in school and that she couldn’t
work late because she had to be home “making dinner” and “being with them when
they get home from school.” Romney added, “Let’s have a flexible schedule so
you can have hours that work for you.”

So, for Romney, the
“binders” can be opened for women to get out and go into the kitchen to “make
dinner.”

The GOP put its foot in its mouth on a number of occasions during his
election campaign, even before this new “Binders Full of Women” blunder.

For instance, Missouri Senate Republican candidate Todd Akin in August said on national TV that in
cases of “legitimate rape,” pregnancy is rare because “the female body has ways
to try to shut that whole thing down.”

And vice presidential candidate
Rep. Paul Ryan supports a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion in
all instances, including in the case of rape and opposes abortion except in
cases where the mother’s life is in danger.

Romney’s ignorance of the region was disclosed in September by Mother Jones, which published exclusive video footage of him speaking to donors at a May 17 fundraiser. Romney
pontificated thatpeace in the Middle East is not possibleand a Palestinian state is not feasible, telling
donors Palestinians have "no interest whatsoever in establishing peace and
that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish."

With so much riding on the outcome of the U.S.
presidential elections in our region, and with everyone waiting to see what
effect, if any, the new U.S. administration will bring to bear on the Syrian
revolution, it is frightening to think of Romney at the helm.

As an Arab woman, I have been categorized in many
different ways, but never yet put in a “binder.”

Again I wonder, will America’s women accept to be
put into binders, or will they make Romney and the GOP pay for such out of
date, patronizing, sexist and unacceptable thinking?

Monday, October 15, 2012

It's Blog Action Day, the annual event when bloggers worldwide unite to write about one
important global topic on the same day.

The theme for 2012 is, “The Power of We.”

Topics since the Day’s foundation in 2007 covered
the environment, poverty, climate change, water and food. In 2010 and 2011, Mich
Café participated in the latter two (see
links below).

Blog Action Day chose The Power of We because of the popularity of such
subjects as community, equality, transparency, anti-corruption and freedom in a
theme poll they ran via Facebook and Twitter. It also reflects the ever-growing
movements of people working together for positive social change in the world.

The Power of We, or the lack thereof in many cases, keyed me up. I dragged
my feet over the past few weeks in picking the angle to cover. But because I
can only relate to equality and freedom of thought and expression through the
power of education, that had to be my focus.

This choice was confirmed by two events over the past week: the
dramatic shooting on October 9 of 14-year-old Pakistani student Malala Yousafzai for going to school and
advocating for girls’ education; and the first International Day of the Girl
Child on October 11.

Both events, through
their reach and ripple, confirm that empowering girls means empowering societies
as a whole. I would add that through proper education, boys would grow up to be
equal partners on that journey.

Under Article 1 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one
another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

Furthermore, Article
26 proclaims:

(1) Everyone has the
right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and
fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and
professional education shall be made generally available and higher education
shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

(2) Education shall
be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the
strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall
promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or
religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for
the maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents have a
prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their
children.

Education is the only
way we might see a fall in the number of child brides, the eventual abolition
of Female Genital Mutilation, gender equality in the workplace and at home and
hopefully racial and religious tolerance.

Malala Yousafzai

On October 9, a Taliban
gunman shot Malala Yousafzai in the head and neck while she was returning home
on a school bus. She remains unconscious and in critical condition.

I first heard about the
attempted assassination, and indeed about Malala, from our Pakistani driver at
work, who comes from that region. He rushed in to ask me to check on the
Internet about the teenager’s condition. All of the community in Dubai was
outraged and saddened by the attempt on the young girl’s life. And although a
conservative, the Pakistani driver was full of admiration for what Malala stands
for and what she is trying to achieve.

The Taliban gunman shot
Malala as she heading home on the school bus after taking an exam in Pakistan’s
Swat Valley. The masked gunman shouted, "Which one of you is Malala? Speak
up, otherwise I will shoot you all."On her
being identified, the gunman shot her twice, once in the head and once in the
neck. Two other girls, Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan, were also wounded. They
are both stable and were able to provide details of the outrage.

Malala being airlifted to a military hospital after the shooting

Malala was airlifted to
a military hospital in Peshawar where she was operated on after swelling
developed in the left portion of her brain damaged by the bullet.After a three-hour operation, doctors successfully removed
the bullet that had lodged in her shoulder near her spinal cord.Today, Monday, Malala was airlifted with the help of the UAE to the UK, for further treatment.

Ehsanullah Ehsan, chief spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed
responsibility for the attack, saying the teenager "is the symbol of the
infidels and obscenity," adding that if she survived, they would target
her again.

Malala Yousafzai is a
pupil from the town of Mingora in Pakistan’sSwat Valley. She is known for her education and
women’s rights activism in the Valley, where the Talibanhave banned girls from attending
school.

Her father, Ziauddin
Yousafzai, a poet, school owner and an educational activist himself, encouraged
Malala in her education and pursuits. He runs a chain of schools known as the
Khushal Public School, also named after a famousPashtunpoet,Khushal
Khan Khattak.

In January 2009, she
posted her first anonymous entry to the BBC Urdublog that would later make her famous.
She used the pseudonym "Gul Makai" -- meaning "corn flower"
in Urdu-- so as not to be targeted by the
Taliban.

The idea for the blog
came from her father. She wrote about her
life under the Taliban regime, their attempts to take control of the valley and
her views on promoting education for girls. Later that year, the Pakistani
military intervened, culminating in the expulsion of the Taliban from the Swat
Valley.

In 2009, Malala began
to appear on television and publicly encourage female education.After her BBC blogging identity was revealed, she was
recognized by several organizations for her courage.

In December 2011, she
was awarded Pakistan'sNational
Youth Peace Prize. This
January, the Government Girls Secondary School on Mission Road in Swat was
renamed Malala Yousafzai Government Girls Secondary School in her honor.

Responding to concerns
about his and his family’s safety, Malala's father, Ziauddin, said, "We
wouldn't leave our country if my daughter survives or not. We have an ideology
that advocates peace. The Taliban cannot stop all independent voices through
the force of bullets."

Girl Child

As Malala Yousafzai fights for her life because of her strong
belief in education, the world honored the “girl child” through an
international day to raise awareness about enduring
discrimination and to mobilize stronger action for human rights.

Education, particularly that of girls and women, aids progress and
promotes development.

Worldwide, more people than ever before are benefiting from an
education, according to UNESCO. It says over 1.5 billion children and youths
are enrolled in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and universities.
From 1999 to 2008, an additional 52 million children enrolled in primary
school. The number of children out of school was more than halved in South and
West Asia. Enrolment ratios rose by almost one-third in sub-Saharan Africa.

Access to education is steadily expanding. Enrolment in higher
education has risen sharply across developing countries, and innovative
literacy and adult education programs are transforming the lives of the
disadvantaged.

But, UNESCO notes, a number of obstacles, including poverty, still
keep 67 million children of primary-school age out of school, 53 percent of
whom are girls and almost 43 percent of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Enrolment rates are slowing and being eroded by dropout,
particularly in countries affected by armed conflict where over 40 percent of
out-of-school children live.

Gender disparities continue to hamper progress in education. Around
17 percent of the world’s adults -- 793 million people, of whom two-thirds are
women -- still lack basic literacy skills.

Millions struggle to learn in overcrowded classrooms, without textbooks
or qualified teachers. An additional two million teachers will need to be
recruited by 2015 to achieve universal primary education, more than half of
them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Across the world, girls carry the heaviest burden of
poverty, marginalization and violence. “Their rights are violated through early
marriages, active discrimination and lack of opportunity. For far too many,
being born a girl remains a lifelong sentence to inequality and injustice. This
violates basic rights and holds back communities and societies from sustainable
development.”

In her message on the occasion of International Day
of the Girl Child, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said, “Education is the
most powerful way to break this vicious circle. Education gives girls tools to
shape the world according to their aspirations. It can delay early marriages
and help with family planning. It provides strong medicine against disease and ill
health. There is simply no better investment a society can make than in the rights
of girls. The impact ripples far beyond individuals to take in the health and wellbeing
of societies well into the future.”

UNESCO estimates that 32 million girls who should be
are not attending primary school today. This must change. It is committed to
ensuring every girl has access to quality education. “We must get girls into
school and make sure they stay the course, from primary through secondary and
onto higher education.”

Bokova adds: “The rights of girls are a key issue for
social justice. Governments everywhere must do far more to protect them, to
bolster girls’ capacities and to create conditions for the fulfillment of their
aspirations. This requires stronger legalization and policies of protection and
inclusion. It calls for targeted work to break stereotypes and promote new
models.”

“The Power of We” is thus dedicated to promoting education.

“The Power of We” is dedicated to building for the future.

“The Power of We” is dedicated to Malala Yousafzai with my prayers for
her recovery, so that she might continue her courageous battle for education
and carry on being an example to her peers.

“The Power of We” is dedicated to the Girl Child to
fulfill her potential, enrich her society and the economic growth of her nation.

“The Power of We” is also dedicated to the boys who will
grow up to be men and walk hand in hand with their women partners.

The Ibn Rushd Award for
Freedom of Thought will be presented to Razan at the Museum for Islamic Art in
Germany on November 30.

The Ibn Rushd Fund has since 1998 been recognizing people who
have sought to stimulate change with their thoughts and who have suffered the
consequences of imprisonment and torture. It recognizes those who broke new
ground for many others and who are fighting for freedom.

For the Fund this year, “it
was essential to call explicitly for a young activist of the Arab Spring, who
fights peacefully for a democratic state.”

Razan committed to the
struggle for the rights of political prisoners in 2001 and co-founded a society
for human rights in Syria.

She has been reporting on the
violation of human rights since 2005 on Syrian Human Rights
Information Link, a database for human right violations committed by the Syrian
regime. The 35-year-old activist supports families of political prisoners. In
April 2011, she also co-founded the local coordinating committee of the
revolution in Syria.

According to the Ibn Rush
Fund, “Syrians have been suffering under totalitarian rule, the negation of
freedom and the smothering of even the smallest attempts to build a civil
society for decades now. It is difficult to take a stand in the name of freedom
if the absolute deprivation of freedom is merely the least grave of the
personal consequences that may follow. And yet, young Syrian women and men have
begun calling for reform publicly, and have been doing so for 18 months now.”

Razan Zaitouneh, forced to go into hiding

Since the outbreak of the
revolution in Syria in March 2011, Razan was forced to go into hiding.

In May 2011, Air Force
Intelligence broke into her house in Damascus. Many of her documents and
personal belongings were seized. Additionally, her brother-in-law, Aburrahman
Hammada, who was just visiting, was taken hostage in exchange for the fugitive
couple. Air Force Intelligence then
arrested Razan’s husband, Wa’el Hammada. The brothers spent three months in
solitary confinement before they were released.

Since 2004, Razan
has published dozens of articles and reports in the press and on the Internet about
the human rights situation and the freedom of speech in Syria.

She received the
European Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya Prize for the defense of human rights
and the 2011 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought -- together with renowned Syrian
cartoonist Ali Ferzat.

The Ibn Rushd Fund says Razan’s
commitment to human rights and her non-violent opposition make her a true representative
of a young generation that is prepared to risk personal freedom, security and
even life for social change. She is also representative of women in the Arab Spring,
who -- especially in Syria -- are often at the forefront of the struggle for
freedom and democracy but ignored by most Western media.

An independent jury chose
Razan from a sizable number of Arab nominees. The jurors included Taoufik Ben
Brikof Tunisia. Aref Hijjawi of Palestine, Gisele Khoury of Lebanon, Miral
al-Tahawy of Egypt/USA, and Samar Yazbek of Syria/France.

The Ibn Rushd
Fund for Freedom of Thought was set up on December 10, 1998, in commemoration
of the 800th anniversary of Ibn Rushd's (Averroes, 1126-1198) death, and on the
50th anniversary of the Declaration of Universal Human Rights. It is an
independent organization registered in Germany. Its founding members are mainly
of Arab origin living in Germany.

The annual prize is a
citizens' award, which is exclusively financed by membership fees and
donations. Its focus varies from year to year. It has so far covered literature
and film, women's rights, the reform of Islam, Arab enlightenment, economics,
blogger/Internet platforms and journalism.

Pen Pinter Prize winner Samar Yazbek

Juror Samar
Yazbek is a prominent, self-exiled Syrian novelist and activist. And has been a
vocal critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime

Samar is being
recognized for her book, A Woman In The Crossfire. The book is based on diaries she kept during the early
stages of the Syrian revolution. It details how her outspoken views against Assad's
regime led to persecution and her decision to flee Syria with her young
daughter.

Duffy, who became the first female Poet Laureate in
2009, was
named the winner of the main prize in July.

The annual award -- in memory
of the playwright Harold Pinter -- is given to a British writer of outstanding
literary merit. The winner then chooses a recipient for the WriterOf Courage Award, which recognizes an
international writer who has been persecuted for being outspoken in her or his beliefs.

Duffy was given a shortlist
by the English Pen Writers At Risk Committee, and made her announcement at the
British Library on October 8.

Samar said in response,
"I am grateful to English Pen, and to Carol Ann Duffy, for selecting this
book, and through it, for supporting our cause."

Lady Antonia Fraser, Harold
Pinter's widow, added: "Carol Ann Duffy's recognition of Samar Yazbek's
courage in writing about Syria's revolution from the inside could not come at a
more appropriate time".

Born in 1970, Samar comes
from the same Alawite denomination as the Syrian president

Prior to the uprising, she
wrote extensively on women's issues in newspapers and journals, while challenging
taboos in her novels.

Her second novel Salsal (Clay) cast a critical eye over
the power of the military, while Cinnamon
-- which is due to be published in the UK in November -- looks at the social
divide in Syria through the prism of a servant who enters into a lesbian
relationship with her employer.

When protests against the
Syrian regime began in mid-March last year, Samar voiced her support online.

She received hate mail, her
family disowned her and, eventually, she was arrested and shown the cells she
would be kept in, if she continued to support the rebels.

After further intimidation,
she fled to Paris in July 2011. A BBC article quotes
an interview where shehas said: "I return all the time,but in secrecy. Undercover."

Woman In The Crossfire tells the story of the first few months of the uprising, via her
own story and testimony from ordinary Syrians. Filled with snapshots of exhilarating hope and horrifying
atrocities, Samar’s book offers a wholly unique perspective on the Syrian
uprising. Hers is a modest yet powerful testament to the strength and
commitment of countless unnamed Syrians who have united to fight for their
freedom.

In an interview with David Ignatius for the Washington Post last month, Samar revealed,
“The constant talk of sectarian war ‘is only a game that the regime plays,’ to make the Alawites feel they will all be slaughtered unless they
hang together around the regime and its thugs.”

Samar says the pro-regime thugs known as the shabiha are the enforcers of the
sectarian mindset. Many of these young men are from Assad’s own tribe, she
says. They have perpetrated some of the worst massacres in Sunnite villages,
but they also intimidate Alawites who think of defecting from the regime.

Ignatius writes: “What moved me most about Yazbek was when she
voiced her fear that secular revolutionaries like her -- who refuse to play the
sectarian game -- are being swept aside in the darkening tempest that is Syria.
She said the opposition must fight on three fronts -- against Assad, against
the Salafist Sunnite extremists who want to capture the revolution and against
the germ of sectarianism that is infecting Syria as the violence continues.

“When I go to Syria, I talk to the fighters about
pardon and forgiveness,” she says, but she wonders how long this message can
prevail. “There is a sentiment of hatred that the regime has succeeded in
spreading through the country.” She understands that the United States fears
the rise of the jihadists. But she says the longer America lets this fire burn,
the more likely it is that the haters and killers will own the future.”

Monday, October 8, 2012

Sometimes,
one thing leads to another on Facebook and we join our voices across borders in
support of an idea.

This
happened a couple of weeks ago through a posting on Facebook by my friend Ali
Dahmash.

Ali shared a
photo by I care for Jordan of a garbage skip painted by
Muna Awad and her family to beautify the part of Amman where they live.

Countless
comments later, I got to “meet” Muna online.

She told me,
“We need to highlight issues or problems in our city by creating solutions --
something like ‘lighting a candle instead of cursing the dark.’”

Muna Awad
set about her solution by painting the ugly iron wheelie in the street. She
told her family, “We should all care about how we pack our garbage and thrown it
away and how it can be picked up in style, so to speak. It is our responsibility
even in the streets.”

From the
many messages tagged on the photo, we all agreed it was a trend that would help
make cities look better and raise awareness to keep the streets clean,
especially if the project were approved and sanctioned by municipalities.

Muna Awad's step-by-step to painting a garbage skip

While Muna set out to get the
community involved in Amman, I started thinking it would be a great idea for
Dubai as well. If the community were involved, people would maybe be more
careful about how they treat trash and not just toss it out.

One of the first things that
struck me about Dubai when I arrived in 2006 was the city’s cleanliness. It
must be one of the cleanest cities around the world. Recently though, I noticed
there was more litter, tossed out of car windows, scattered around street bins,
despite innumerable garbage collectors and street cleaners, always standing out
in their orange overalls, trying to keep Dubai spotless.

What if a project were
launched, in coordination with Dubai Municipality, to paint all these garbage
bins street by street? This could revitalize communities, counteract graffiti
vandalism and engage new and established artists, local and foreign.

A project to beautify the city

The “garbage bin project”
could be launched in schools and universities. Each one would take
responsibility for the garbage bins in the streets of their area. Pupils and
students would be involved and become aware of such responsibilities at a young
age.

This could be extended to the
many recycling bins littered around the city too and encourage recycling.

Apart from pupils and
students, the idea of painting the ugly silver garbage bins could extend to
galleries, restaurants and malls. Shops and businesses could participate too.

Local and foreign artists
would be invited, through the municipality, to participate in beautifying the
city with their art.

Could such a project be
launched at Art Dubai in March 2013? Would Dubai Municipality approve?

This could all be part of a
“street art” program to develop, support, promote and increase awareness to
cleanliness and recycling while adding beauty and character to neighborhoods
and counteracting graffiti vandalism.

One of the men in orange, who I see every morning, keeping Dubai clean

The
“Garbage Art” I propose would be government- and/or municipality-supported and
sponsored.

By John Fekner’s definition of street art as “all art on the street that’s not graffiti,” the
thousands of garbage bins on the streets of Dubai, every 50 meters in some
streets, could really benefit from an overhaul and additionally encourage
residents to throw their trash inside the bins, rather than around them.

“Garbage Art” would allow
artists, amateur and professional, to reach a much broader audience than
exhibiting in art shows and galleries.

Many street artists have
earned international recognition and displayed their works in museums or
galleries as well as on the streets. Some street artists achieve commercial
success doing graphics for companies or starting their own merchandising lines.
Others have transitioned away from street art to traditional gallery and museum
exhibitions.

While practically all large
cities in the world, and some of the bigger regional towns, host some form of
urban art or graffiti, there are a few locations that are considered to harbor
forerunners of particular mediums or foster a pioneering street art culture in
general. Such locations often attract internationally renowned artists who
travel to these locations to exhibit their works. Dubai could become one such destination.

Bristol, in the UK, is probably the best known
for its share in
the street art scene, due in part to the success of Banksy. London toohas become one of the most pro-graffiti cities
in the world. Although officially condemned and heavily enforced, street art
has a huge following and in many ways is embraced by the public, for example,Stik's stick figures.

Imagine what fun it would be
to have bus tours to view Dubai’s garbage bins.

Thanks Ali and Muna for the
idea. Maybe we could twin Amman and Dubai…

So who has wasta (connections) at Dubai
Municipality?

Who can get the idea to the
attention of our beloved Sheikh Mo, as we affectionately refer to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and
Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai?